2G-5G Networks: Evolution of

Technologies, Standards, and Deployment

Shakil Akhtar
Professor, Information Technolgy Department
Clayton State University

Address:
Dept of Information Technology
2000 Clayton State Blvd,
Clayton State University
Morrow, GA 30260
USA

Office: +1 678-466-4444
Fax: +1 678-466-4459
Email: sakhtar@clayton.edu
 2G-5G Networks: Evolution of
Technologies, Standards, and Deployment
Shakil Akhtar
Professor, Department of Information Technology
Clayton State University

A B S T R A C T
This article presents an overview of the evolution of technologies, standards, and deployment
from second to fifth generation mobile networks with emphasis on current and future trends in
the areas of wireless networking, multimedia technology, network architecture, and network
services. Related research in the development of future mobile systems has been highlighted.
Issues of system integration, global roaming capabilities, handoff, high speed multimedia
support, ad-hoc networking, quality of service, and physical layer problems has been
addressed. In addition, global developments in multimedia network services and terminals
have been discussed.

I N T R O D U C T I O N
The fourth and fifth generation wireless mobile systems, commonly known as 4G and 5G, are
expected to provide global roaming across different types of wireless and mobile networks, for
instance from satellite to mobile networks and to Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). 4G is
an all IP-based mobile network using different radio access technologies providing seamless
roaming and providing connection via always the best available network [1]. The vision of 4G
wireless/mobile systems is the provision of broadband access, seamless global roaming, and
Internet/data/voice everywhere, utilizing for each the most "appropriate" always best
connected technology [2]. These systems are about integrating terminals, networks, and
applications to satisfy increasing user demands ([3], [4]). 4G systems are expected to offer a
speed of over 100 Mbps in stationary mode and an average of 20 Mbps for mobile stations
reducing the download time of graphics and multimedia components by more than ten times
compared to currently available 2 Mbps on 3G systems.

The fifth generation communication system is envisioned as the real wireless network, capable
of supporting wireless world wide web (wwww) applications in 2010 to 2015 time frame. There
are two views of 5G systems: evolutionary and revolutionary. In evolutionary view the 5G (or
beyond 4G) systems will be capable of supporting wwww allowing a highly flexible network
such as a Dynamic Adhoc Wireless Network (DAWN). In this view advanced technologies
including intelligent antenna and flexible modulation are keys to optimize the adhoc wireless
networks. In revolutionary view, 5G systems should be an intelligent technology capable of
interconnecting the entire world without limits. An example application could be a robot with
built-in wireless communication with artificial intelligence.

The 4G system is still a predominantly research and development initiative based upon 3G,
which is struggling to meet its performance goals. The challenges for development of 4G
systems depend upon the evolution of different underlying technologies, standards and
deployment. We present an overall vision of the 4G features, framework, and integration of
mobile communication. First we explain the evolutionary process from 2G to 5G in light of
used technologies and business demands. Next, we discuss the architectural developments for
2G-5G systems, followed by the discussion on standards and services. Finally, we address the
market demands and discuss the development of terminals for these systems.

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2 G - 5 G N E T W O R K S : E V O L U T I O N
The first generation of mobile phones was analog systems that emerged in the early 1980s
[5]. The second generation of digital mobile phones appeared in 1990s along with the first
digital mobile networks. During the second generation, the mobile telecommunications
industry experienced exponential growth in terms of both subscribers and value-added
services. Second generation networks allow limited data support in the range of 9.6 kbps to
19.2 kbps. Traditional phone networks are used mainly for voice transmission, and are
essentially circuit-switched networks.

2.5G networks, such as General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), are an extension of 2G
networks, in that they use circuit switching for voice and packet switching for data
transmission resulting in its popularity since packet switching utilizes bandwidth much more
efficiently. In this system, each user’s packets compete for available bandwidth, and users are
billed only for the amount of data transmitted.

3G networks were proposed to eliminate many problems faced by 2G and 2.5G networks,
especially the low speeds and incompatible technologies such as Time Division Multiple Access
(TDMA) [5] and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) [6] in different countries. Expectations
for 3G included increased bandwidth; 128 Kbps for mobile stations, and 2 Mbps for fixed
applications [7]. In theory, 3G should work over North American as well as European and
Asian wireless air interfaces. In reality, the outlook for 3G is not very certain. Part of the
problem is that network providers in Europe and North America currently maintain separate
standards’ bodies (3GPP for Europe and Asia; 3GPP2 for North America). The standards’
bodies have not resolved the differences in air interface technologies. There is also a concern
that in many countries 3G will never be deployed due to its cost and poor performance.
Although it is possible that some of the weaknesses at physical layer will still exist in 4G
systems, an integration of services at the upper layer is expected.

The evolution of mobile networks is strongly influenced by business challenges and the
direction mobile system industry takes. It also relates to the radio access spectrum and the
control restrictions over it that varies from country to country. However, as major technical
advances are being standardized it becomes more complex for industry alone to choose a
suitable evolutionary path. Many mobile system standards for Wide Area Networks (WANs)
already exists including the popular ones such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications
Systems (UMTS), CDMA, and CDMA-2000 (1X/3X). In addition there are evolving standards
for Personal Area Networks (PANs), such as Bluetooth wireless, and for WLANs, such as IEEE
802.11.

The current trend in mobile systems is to support the high bit rate data services at the
downlink via High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA). It provides a smooth evolutionary
path for UMTS networks to higher data rates in the same way as Enhanced Data rates for
Global Evolution (EDGE) do in Global Systems for Mobile communication (GSM). HSPDA uses
shared channels that allow different users to access the channel resources in packet domain.
It provides an efficient means to share spectrum that provides support for high data rate
packet transport on the downlink, which is well adapted to urban environment and indoor
applications. Initially, the peak data rates of 10 Mbps may be achieved using HSPDA. The next
target is to reach 30 Mbps with the help of antenna array processing technologies followed by
the enhancements in air interface design to allow even higher data rates.

Another recent development is a new framework for mobile networks that is expected to
provide multimedia support ([8], [9]) for IP telecommunication services, called as IP
Multimedia Subsystems (IMS) [10]. Real-time rich multimedia communication mixing
telecommunication and data services could happen due to IMS in wireline broadband

2
networks. However, mobile carriers cannot offer their customers the freedom to mix
multimedia components (text, pictures, audio, voice, video) within one call. Today a two party
voice call cannot be extended to a multi-party audio and video conference. IMS overcomes
such limitations and makes these scenarios possible.

The future of mobile systems is largely dependent upon the development and evolution of 4G
systems, multimedia networking, and upto some extent, photonic networks. It is expected
that initially the 4G mobile systems will be used independent from other technologies. With
gradual growth of high speed data support to multimegabits per second, an integrations of
services will happen. In addition, developments in photonic switching might allow mobile
communication on a completely photonic network using Wavelength Division Multiplexing
(WDM) on photonic switches and routers. The evolutionary view of 4G systems to 5G include a
support of wireless world wide web allowing a highly flexible and reconfigurable dynamic
adhoc networks.

BS

BSC PCF PDSN

Internet Protocol
BS
MS
Internet

Gateway
PSDN: Packet Data Serving Node
PCF: Packet Control Function
WLAN
WLAN: Wireless LAN AP
AP: Access Point
BS: Base Station
MS: Mobile Station
BSC: Base Station Controller

Figure 1: Wireless Mobile System Network Architecture

N e t w o r k A r c h i t e c t u r e
The basic architecture of wireless mobile system consists of a mobile phone connected to the
wired world via a single hop wireless connection to a Base Station (BS), which is responsible
for carrying the calls within its region called cell (Figure 1). Due to limited coverage provided

3
by a BS, the mobile hosts change their connecting base stations as they move from one cell to
another. A hand-off (later referred to as “horizontal handoff” in this article) occurs when a
mobile system changes its BS. The mobile station communicates via the BS using one of the
wireless frequency sharing technologies such as FDMA, TDMA, CDMA etc. Each BS is
connected to a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) through fixed links, and each MSC is connected
to others via Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). The MSC is a local switching
exchange that handles switching of mobile user from one BS to another. It also locates the
current cell location of a mobile user via a Home Location Register (HLR) that stores current
location of each mobile that belongs to the MSC. In addition, the MSC contains a Visitor
Locations Register (VLR) with information of visiting mobiles from other cells. The MSC is
responsible for determining the current location of a target mobile using HLR, VLR and by
communicating with other MSCs. The source MSC initiates a call setup message to MSC
covering target area for this purpose.

BS

VLR

BSC MSC

BS
MS
GMSC HLR
To other
MSCs

To PSTN
and Internet
MS: Mobile Station
BS: Base Station
BSC: Base Station Controller
MSC: Mobile Switching Center
VLR: Visiting Location Register
HLR: Home Location Register
GMSC: Gateway MSC
PSTN: Public Switched Telephone Network

Figure 2: Mobile System/WLAN Integration

The first generation cellular implementation consisted of analog systems in 450-900 MHz
frequency range using frequency shift keying for signaling and Frequency Division Multiple
Access (FDMA) for spectrum sharing. The second generation implementations consist of
TDMA/CDMA implementations with 900, 1800 MHz frequencies. These systems are called GSM
for Europe and IS-136 for US. The respective 2.5G implementations are called GPRS and
CDPD followed by 3G implementations.

4
Third generation mobile systems are intended to provide a global mobility with wide range of
services including voice calls, paging, messaging, Internet and broadband data. IMT-2000
defines the standard applicable for North America. In Europe, the equivalent UMTS
standardization is in progress. In 1998, a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) was
formed to unify and continue the technical specification work. Later, the Third Generation
Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) was formed for technical development of CDMA-2000
technology.

3G mobile offers access to broadband multimedia services, which is expected to become all IP
based in future 4G systems ([11], [12]). However, current 3G networks are not based on IP;
rather they are an evolution from existing 2G networks. Work is going on to provide 3G
support and Quality of Service (QoS) in IP and mobility protocols. The situation gets more
complex when we consider the WLAN research and when we expect it to become mobile. It is
expected that WLANs will be installed in trains, trucks, and buildings. In addition, it may just
be formed on an ad-hoc basis (like ad-hoc networks [13-[15]) between random collections of
devices that happen to come within radio range of one another (Figure 2).

In general, 4G architecture includes three basic areas of connectivity ([16]-[19]); PANs (such
as Bluetooth), WANs (such as IEEE 802.11), and cellular connectivity. Under this umbrella, 4G
will provide a wide range of mobile devices that support global roaming ([20]- [23]). Each
device will be able to interact with Internet-based information that will be modified on the fly
for the network being used by the device at that moment (Figure 3).

Cellular
2.5G
Digital (GSM etc.) Cellular 3G
Audio/Video (UMTS etc.)
Broadcast

Connection Layer

Core IP Network

Short Range
PAN/LAN/ Cellular 4G
MAN/WAN WLAN/
HIPERLAN

Figure 3: Seamless Connection of Networks in 4G

In 5G mobile IP, each cell phone is expected to have a permanent "home" IP address, along
with a "care-of" address that represents its actual location. When a computer somewhere on
the Internet needs to communicate with the cell phone, it first sends a packet to the phone's

5
home address. A directory server on the home network forwards this to the care-of address
via a tunnel, as in regular mobile IP. However, the directory server also sends a message to
the computer informing it of the correct care-of address, so future packets can be sent
directly. This should enable TCP sessions and HTTP downloads to be maintained as users move
between different types of networks. Because of the many addresses and the multiple layers
of subnetting, IPv6 is needed for this type of mobility. For instance, 128 bits (4 times more
than current 32 bit IPv4 address) may be divided into four parts (I thru IV) for supporting
different functions. The first 32-bit part (I) may be defined as the home address of a device
while the second part (II) may be declared as the care-of address allowing communication
between cell phones and personal computers. So once the communication path between cell
and PC is established, care-of address will be used instead of home address thus using the
second part of IPv6 address.

Table 1: Comparison of 1G-4G Technologies

Technology 1G 2G/2.5G 3G 4G 5G
/ Features
Start/ 1970/ 1980/ 1990/ 2000/ 2010/
Deployment 1984 1999 2002 2010 2015
Data 2 kbps 14.4-64 kbps 2 Mbps 200 Mbps to 1 Gbps and
Bandwidth 1 Gbps for low higher
mobility
Standards AMPS 2G: TDMA, WCDMA, Single Single
CDMA, GSM CDMA-2000 unified unified
2.5G: GPRS, standard standard
EDGE, 1xRTT
Technology Analog Digital cellular Broad Unified IP and Unified IP and
cellular technology bandwidth seamless seamless
technology CDMA, IP combination of combination of
technology broadband, broadband,
LAN/WAN/ LAN/WAN/PAN
PAN and /WLAN and
WLAN wwww
Service Mobile 2G: Digital Integrated Dynamic Dynamic
telephony voice, short high quality information information
(voice) messaging audio, video access, access, wearable
2.5G: Higher and data wearable devices with AI
capacity devices capabilities
packetized data
Multiplexing FDMA TDMA, CDMA CDMA CDMA CDMA
Switching Circuit 2G: Circuit
2.5G: Circuit Packet except
for access circuit for air All packet All packet
network & air interface
interface;
Packet for core
network and
data
Core Network PSTN PSTN Packet Internet Internet
network
Handoff Horizontal Horizontal Horizontal Horizontal and Horizontal and
Vertical Vertical

6
The third part (III) of IPv6 address may be used for tunneling to establish a connection
between wire line and wireless network. In this case an agent (a directory server) will use the
mobile IP address to establish a channel to cell phones. The fourth and last part (IV) of IPv6
address may be used for local address for VPN sharing. Figure 4 illustrates the concept.

I II III IV

Figure 4: IPv6 address divided into four IPv4 addresses for

supporting 4G/5G functions

The goal of 4G and 5G is to replace the current proliferation of core mobile networks with a
single worldwide core network standard, based on IPv6 for control, video, packet data, and
voice. This will provide uniform video, voice, and data services to the mobile host, based
entirely on IPv6. The objective is to offer seamless multimedia services to users accessing an
all IP-based infrastructure through heterogeneous access technologies. IPv6 is assumed to act
as an adhesive for providing global connectivity and mobility among networks.

Most of the wireless companies are looking forward to IPv6, because they will be able to
introduce new services. The Japanese government is requiring all of Japan's ISPs to support
IPv6 with its first 4G launch. Although the US upgrade to IPv6 is less advanced, WLAN’s
advancement may provide a shortcut to 4G.

S t a n d a r d s
The role of standards is to facilitate interconnections between different types of
telecommunication networks, provide interoperability over network and terminal interfaces,
and enable free movement and trade of equipment. There are standard bodies in different
countries that develop telecommunications standards based upon the government regulations,
business trends and public demands. In addition, international standard organizations provide
global standardizations. In telecommunications area, International Telecommunications Union
(ITU) and International Standards Organization (ISO) have been recognized as major
international standards developer. Many popular telecommunications and networking
standards are given by other international organizations such as Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Internet Engineering Taskforce (IETF). Among other
organizations, the most well known are Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and
American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in US, European Telecommunication Standards
Institute (ETSI), China Wireless Telecommunications Standards Group (CWTS), Japan’s
Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB) and Telecommunications Technology
Committee (TTC), and Korea’s Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA).

The ITU began its studies on global personal communications in 1985, resulting in a system
referred to as International Mobile Telecommunications for the year 2000 (IMT-2000). Later,
ITU Radio Communications Sector (ITU-R) and ITU-Telecommunications (ITU-T) groups were
formed for radio communications and telecommunications standards, respectively. In Europe,
the concepts of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) have been the subject of
extensive research. In 1990, ETSI established an ad hoc group for UMTS that focused on the
critical points to be studied for systems suitable for mobile users. Since 1998, ETSI’s
standardization of the 3G mobile system has been carried out in the 3G Partnership Project
(3GPP) that focuses on the GSM-UMTS migration path. The 3GPP2 is an effort headed by ANSI
for evolved IS-41 networks and related radio transmission technologies.

7
The standard organizations propose the mobile system standards that change as new
technologies emerge, and the regulations and market demand change. The changing features
and used technologies from first to fifth generation mobile systems are summarized in Table 1.
It is noticeable that the fifth generation system not only provides a horizontal handoff like the
previous systems but also provide a vertical handoff. While a global roaming may be provided
by satellite systems, a regional roaming by 5G cellular systems, a local area roaming by
WLANs, and a personal area roaming by wireless PANs, it will also be possible to roam
vertically between these systems as well as support wwww services.

One technology (or its variation) that is expected to remain in future mobile system is CDMA,
which is a use of spread spectrum technique by multiple transmitters to send signals
simultaneously on the same frequency without interference to the same receiver. Other widely
used multiple access techniques are TDMA and FDMA mostly associated with 3G and previous
systems.

In these three schemes (CDMA, TDMA, FDMA), receivers discriminate among various signals
by the use of different codes, time slots and frequency channels, respectively. Digital cellular
systems is an extension of IS-95 standard and is the first CDMA-based digital cellular standard
pioneered by Qualcomm. The brand name for IS-95 is cdmaOne. It is now being replaced by
IS-2000 and is also known as CDMA-2000, which is a 3G mobile telecommunications standard
from ITU’s IMT-2000. CDMA-2000 is considered an incompatible competitor of the other major
3G standard WCDMA.

Due to its importance in future systems, let’s now examine the different CDMA standards
currently available. CDMA-2000 1x, also known as CDMA-2000 1xMC (Multi-Carrier), is the
core 3G CDMA-2000 technology. The designation Multi-Carrier refers to the possibility of using
up to three separate 1.25 MHz carriers for data transmission, and is used to distinguish this
from WCDMA.

WCDMA is the wideband implementation of the CDMA multiplexing scheme, which is a 3G

mobile communications standard tied with the GSM standard. WCDMA is the technology
behind UMTS.

CDMA-2000 1xRTT (Radio Transmission Technology) is the basic layer of CDMA-2000, which
supports up to 144 Kbps packet data speeds. 1xRTT is considered mostly 2.5G technology,
which is used to describe systems that provide faster services than 2G, but not quite as fast or
advanced as newer 3G systems. CDMA-2000 1xEV (Evolution) is CDMA-2000 1x with High
Data Rate (HDR) capability added. 1xEV is commonly separated into two phases, CDMA-2000
1xEV-DO and CDMA-2000 1xEV-DV. CDMA2000 1xEV-DO (Evolution-Data Only) supports
data rates up to 2.4 Mbps. It is generally deployed separately from voice networks in its own
spectrum. CDMA2000 1xEV-DV (Evolution-Data and Voice), supports circuit and packet data
rates up to 5 Mbps. It fully integrates with 1xRTT voice networks. CDMA-2000 3x uses three
separate 1.25 MHz carriers. This provides three times the capacity but also requires three
times more bandwidth.

N e t w o r k S e r v i c e s
Users relate to different systems with the help of available applications and services that are
directly a function of available data rates. The key difference between the 2G and 3G is the
data rate support enabling the later to provide interactive video communication, among other
services. A type of service that gained popularity in 2G systems is the messaging service
known as Short Messaging Services (SMS), which is a text messaging service for 2G and later
mobile phones. The messages in SMS cannot be longer than about 160 characters. An
enhanced version of SMS known as Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS) supports the ability to

8
send pictures, sounds and animations. A newer type of messaging service, Multimedia
Messaging Service (MMS), is likely to be very popular for 3G systems and beyond. MMS
provides its users the ability to send and receive messages consisting of multimedia elements
from person to person as well as Internet, and serves as the email client. MMS uses Wireless
Application Protocol (WAP) technology and is powered by the well-known technologies, EDGE,
GPRS and UTMS (using WCDMA). The messages may include any combination of text,
graphics, photographic images, speech and music clips or video clips.

The most exciting extension of messaging services in MMS is a video message capability. For
instance, a short 30 seconds video clip may be shot at a location, edited with appropriate
audio being added and transmitted with ease using the mobile keys on the cellular phones. In
addition, by using Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL), small presentations
can be made that incorporate audio and video along with still images, animations and text to
assemble full multimedia presentation by using a media editor.

With MMS, a new type of service Interfacing Multimedia Messaging Services (IMMS) is
expected to emerge that integrates MMS and Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) allowing the
users to send messages in their MIM buddy list. This will bring full integration of state-of-the
art mobile messaging services including MIM, MMS and chat into all types of mobile devices.

A new term, “Mobile Decision Support (MDS)” has been coined recently for a unique set of
services and applications that will provide instant access to information in support of real-time
business and personal activities for vehicle based 3G systems. Some example services are
navigation, emergency services, remote monitoring, business finder, email, and voicemail. It
is expected that MDS based services will generate a huge non-voice traffic over the net.

WAP is an open international standard for applications that use wireless communication on
mobile phones. The primary language of WAP specification is Wireless Markup Language
(WML), which is the primary content based on XML (A general purpose markup language to
encode text including the details about its structure and appearance). The original intent in
WAP was to provide mobile replacement of World Wide Web. However, due to performance
limitations and costs it did not become quite popular as originally expected.

Although WAP never became popular, a popular WAP-like service called i-mode has recently
been developed in Japan that allows web browsing and several other well designed services
for the mobile phones. i-mode is based upon Compact HTML (C-HTML) as an alternate to
WML, and is compatible with HTML allowing the C-HTML web sites to be viewed and edited
using standard web browsers and tools.

T e r m i n a l s
A mobile phone system is used as a basic terminal for communication. Also called a wireless
phone, handset, cellular mobile or cell phone, is a mobile communications system that uses a
combination of radio wave transmission and conventional telephone switching to permit
telephone communication to and from mobile users within a specified area. A 2.5G/3G
terminal may consist of a mobile phone, a computer/laptop, a television, a pager, a
videoconferencing center, a newspaper, a diary or even a credit card. Often these terminals
may require a compatible 3G card and specialized hardware to provide the desired
functionality.

The terminal design considerations are influenced by the potential applications and bandwidth
requirements. However, there are standards for mobile stations specifications as well, for
instance in IMT-2000. The actual mobile design varies based mainly upon the multiple
available standards, speeds, displays, and operating systems. There are numerous

9
smartphone operating systems tailored to specific products by well-known companies such as
Palm, Nokia, Sony, Ericsson, Siemens, Alcatel, Motorola, Samsung, Sanyo, Panasonic,
Mitsubishi, LG, Sharp, Casio, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, KDDI etc. The key capability in most of the
supported products being the camera, video clips, keyboards, touchscreen, voice recognition,
WiFi (IEEE 802.11b WLAN), and bluetooth wireless.

The future trends in wireless terminals include the influences of new technology such as
software radio, wireless socket (WiFi), portability, and new design/display concepts. The newer
smartphones are expected to have the functionalities of a Pocket PC with features such as
Pocket Outlook, Pocket Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player and MSN Messenger. These
newer services will obviously make the communication in fourth generation systems much
easier. However, the biggest challenge remains the integration and convergence of the
technologies at the lower layers.

C O N C L U S I O N
The current and future trends in mobile systems is considered that includes the
evolutionary path starting from first generation mobile phone systems and is
continuing to the development of 5 t h generation systems. Evolution in network
design, architecture, standards, services, and terminals are discussed.

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Web Sites
1. Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), http://www.3gpp.org
2. Third Generation Partnership Project 2, 3GPP2, http://www.3gpp2.org
3. Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) Forum, http://www.wapforum.org
4. Global Systems for Mobile Communication (GSM) Association, http://www.gsmworld.com.
5. European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), http://www.etsi.org
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7. Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) Development Group, http://www.cdg.org
8. Internet Engineering Taskforce (IETF), http://www.ietf.org
9. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), http://www.ieee.org
10. American National Standards Institute (ANSI), http://www.ansi.org
11. Telecommunication Standards Institute (TIA), http://www.tiaonline.org
12. Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB), http://www.arib.or.jp
13. China Wireless Telecommunication Standards (CWTS) group, http://www.cwts.org
14. International Standards Organization (ISO), http://www.iso.org
15. Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA), http://www.tta.or.kr
16. S.L. Huang, IT Discussion Posting, http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread35959.html

Terms and Definitions

1G: Old-fashioned analog mobile phone systems capable of handling very limited or no data at
all.

2G: Second generation voice-centric mobile phones and services with limited data rates ranging
from 9.6 kbps to 19.2 kbps.

2.5G: Initerim hardware and software mobile solutions between 2G and 3G with voice and data
capabilities and data rates ranging from 56 kbps to 170 kbps.

3G: A long awaited digital mobile systems with a maximum data rate of 2 Mbps under stationary
conditions and 384 kbps under mobile conditions. This technology is capable of handling
streaming video two way voice over IP and Internet connectivity with support for high quality
graphics.

3GPP: Third Generation Partnership Project. 3GPP is an industry body set up to develop a 3G
standard based upon wideband CDMA (WCDMA).

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3GPP2: Third Generation Partnership Project 2. 3GPP2 is an industry standard set up to develop
a 3G standard based upon CDMA-2000.

3.5G: Interim systems between 3G and 4G allowing a downlink data rate upto 14 Mbps.
Sometimes it is also called as High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA).

4G: Planned evolution of 3G technology that is expected to provide support for data rates upto
100 Mbps allowing high quality and smooth video transmission.

5G: In evolutionary view it will be capable of supporting wwww allowing highly flexible
dynamic adhoc wireless networks. In revolutionary view, this intelligent technology is capable of
interconnecting the entire world without limits.

Ad-hoc networks: It is a self configuring mobile network of routers (and hosts) connected by
wireless, in which the nodes may move freely and randomly resulting in a rapid and unpredictable
change in network’s wireless topology. It is also called as Mobile Ad-hoc NETwork (MANET).

Bluetooth: It is a wireless networking protocol designed to replace cable network technology for
devices within 30 feet. Like IEEE 802.11b, Bluetooth also operates in unlicensed 2.4GHz
spectrum, but it only supports data rates up to 1 Mbps.

CDPD: Cellular Digital Packet Data is a wireless standard providing two way data transmission
at 19.2 kbps over existing cellular phone systems.

CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access, also known as CDMA-ONE or IS-95 is a spread
spectrum communication technology that allows many users to communicate simultaneously
using the same frequency spectrum. Communication between users are differentiated by using a
unique code for each user. This method allows more users to share the spectrum at the same time
than alternative technologies.

CDMA-2000: Sometimes also known as IS-136 and IMT-CDMA multicarrier (1X/3X) is an

evolution of narrowband radio transmission technology known as CDMA-ONE (also called
CDMA or IS-95), to third generation. 1X refers to the use of 1.25 Mhz channel while 3X refers to
5 Mhz channel.

DAWN: Advanced technologies including smart antenna and flexible modulation are keys to
optimize this wireless version of reconfigurable adhoc networks.

DSSS: In Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum, the data stream to be transmitted is divided into
small pieces, each of which allocated a frequency channel. Then the data signal is combined with
a higher data rate bit sequence known as “chipping code” that divides the data according to a
spreading ratio thus allowing a resistance from interference during transmission.

EDGE: Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution technology gives GSM and TDMA the
capability to handle 3rd generation mobile phone services with speeds upto 384 kbps. Since it
uses the TDMA infrastructure, a smooth transition from TDMA based systems such as GSM to
EDGE is expected.

FHSS: In Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum a broad slice of bandwidth spectrum is divided
into many possible broadcast frequencies to be used by the transmitted signal.

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GPRS: General Packet Radio Service provides data rates upto 115 kbps for wireless Internet and
other types of data communications using packet data services.

GSM: Global Systems for Mobile Communication is a world-wide standard for digital wireless
mobile phone systems. The standard was oroginated by the European Conference of Postal and
Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) who was responsible for the creation of ETSI.
Currently ETSI is responsible for the development of GSM standard.

Mobile phones: Mobile communication systems that uses radio communication and conventional
telephone switching to allow communication to and from mobile users.

Photonic networks: A network of computers made up using photonic devices based on optics.
The devices include photonic switches, gateways and routers.

PSTN: Public Switched Telephone Network is a regular voice telephone network.

Spread Spectrum: It is a form of wireless communication in which the frequency of the

transmitted signal is deliberately varied over a wide range. This results in a higher bandwidth of
the signal than the one without varied frequency.

TDMA: Time Division Multiple Access is a technology for sharing a medium by several users by
dividing into different time slots transmitting at the same frequency.

UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System is the third generation mobile telephone
standard in Europe that was proposed by ETSI.

WAP: Wireless Application Protocol defines the use of TCP/IP and web browsing for mobile
systems.

WCDMA: Wideband CDMA is a technology for wideband digital radio communications of

multimedia and other capacity demanding applications. It is adopted by ITU under the name
IMT-2000 direct spread.

WDM: Wavelength Division Multiplexing allows many independent signals to be transmitted

simultaneously on one fiber, with each signal located at a different wavelength. Routing and
detection of these signals require devices that are wavelength selective, allowing for the
transmission, recovery, or routing of specific wavelengths in photonic networks.

WWWW: A world wide wireless web is capable of supporting a comprehensive wireless based
web application that includes full graphics and multimedia capability at beyond 4G speeds.

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